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leaning

yep. it’s a line from the song, “lean on me” – – but… the thing is… it’s profoundly true. See… there’s the accessible level of truth in that phrase, that i think we all get… and that’s that we all have times when we need to lean on eachother… we all go through things where we need someone to uphold us.

but today i was struck with a deeper level of that truth.

We all need *somebody* to lean on.

When we are young, we need at least one adult in our lives that we can count on, that we can lean on. This isn’t meant to devalue the immense importance of our friends… but there is a unique importance to the role of that one (or more if we’re lucky) key adult that we need in our lives to be able to lean on. We need someone who mentors us, and upholds us, challenges us, and loves us. We need that person whom we can call, (or text, or email, or message) and ask the questions about the problems that are a little too big for what we are used to.

And I guess i had a bit of a notion that you come to a point where you don’t have that need anymore.

That you come to a place where you are adult enough that you no longer need “an adult”

I was musing about how that transition from adolescence into adulthood has been reported to last longer and longer into a person’s 20’s.
I was musing about how adolescence in this case could be equated with needing that adult to lean on. Then I mused about how for the first time since i was about 16 I actually felt like i was still an adolescent… because I seem to be in midst of that hazy transition.

And then it hit me.

We never outgrow needing that SOMEone.

I think the reality is, we are designed to find that SOMEone to lean on in a marriage partner. That one person you can call on when you have questions about an issue that feels too big for you. that one person who understands why you’re upset when you might not even understand it. That one person who knows exactly what will make you laugh… that one person who can challenge you, support you, love you, and uphold you…

and then it REALLY struck me.

right now, I may feel like a teenager, floundering to deal with the enormity of the task of ministry… as anyone facing all of these issues at once might find themselves feeling…

but the “adult” that i need to be leaning on right now… not to be trite, is Jesus.

Why is it, that when we are being leaned on, we can so quickly forget our need to lean? Are we really that in love with ourselves that we believe we are strong enough for others to lean on us without leaning on the people that are there for us to lean on?

I need my Daddy to help me deal with this one. And the next one. And the one after that.

and I am ashamed to have to wonder… Would I have remembered that I need Him if there had been someone i could lean on around me?
Maybe I just would have needed them to remind me that I need Him. that I always need Him.